Distributor breaker lever



May 29, 1962 c. L. CLEVENGER 3,0 7, 9

DISTRIBUTOR BREAKER LEVER Filed Oct. 24, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 )u wlu 11/ W 1 it f H I EIIIE? f i INVENTOR.

7?:y g'ar Z eve yer H15 ATTORNEY May 29, 1962 c. L. CLEVENGER 3, ,0

DISTRIBUTOR BREAKER LEVER I Filed Oct. 24, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

('ar/ 1. (7e rev/7e) HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice 3,037,096 Patented May 29, 1962 3,037,096 M DISTRIBUTOR BREAKER LEVER Carl L. Clevenger, Anderson, Ind ass'ignpr to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich;, a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 24', 1958, Ser. No. 769,429 2 Claims. (Cl.'20019) This invention relates to breaker levers for use with spark ignition distributors of the general type illustrated in the Julian et a1. Patent 2,8l6,96 8. I

In past breaker lever constructions, it has been common practice to form the breaker lever from at least four different parts, namely, a rubbing block, a contact supporting arm, a flat metal spring and a tubular bearing member formed of insulating material. In this sort of breaker lever, the spring, contact supporting arm and rubbing block are held together by a rivet which constitutes a fifth part, and the tubular bearing member is fixed to the contact supporting arm as by crimping over a part of the contact supporting arm. 7 p v I I In contrast to the above-described breaker lever construction, it is an object of this invention to provide a breaker lever that is for-med essentially of two parts, thus greatly reducing the number of manufacturing and assembly operations required to fabricate the breaker lever. This object is preferably accomplished by forming the body portion including the rubbing block and tubular bearing member from a single piece of insulating material and which is molded around a single metal piece that forms the breaker lever spring and which carries an electrical contact. V

Still another object of this invention is to provide a breaker lever that is formed of a length of spring metal to which is molded a quantity of plastic insulating material.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of fabricating a breaker lever which includes placing a length of spring metal material within a mold cavity and then supplying the mold cavity with a quantity of plastic insulating material which is thereby molded directly to the length of spring metal material. i v

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had tothe accompanyingdrawings wherein preferred embodiments of the present invention are clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a breaker lever made in accordance with this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view ofthe spring metal member inat forms a part of the breaker lever illustrated in FIG- FIGURE 3 isa topview of a mold that is used in fabrieating the breaker lever of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an end view of the mold illustrated in FIGURE 3. H v I FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5- -5 of FIGURE 4. A

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIGURE 5. i

FIGURE 7 is a s'tioin'l view taken along line 7-4 of FIGURE 5.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2, the breaker lever 10 of this invention consists essentially of two parts, namely, a body portion generally designated by reference numeral 12 and a spring metal member generally designated by reference numeral 14. The body portion 12 is formed of plastic insulating material such as nylon (a super polyamide) and is molded directly to the spring metal member 14 as will become more readily apparent hereinafter. The body portion 12 is shaped to provide a rubbing block 16 and an opening 18 which passes entirely through the body portion 12. The opening 18 is adapted to receive a post on a distributor contact set so as to pivotally support the body rportion 12. The body portion 12 has a pair of cylindrical extensions 20 and 22 which extend from oppositeedges of the body portion and which form the ends of opening 18. The portion 20 is illustrated in FIGURE 6 of the drawings. It will be appreciated that other plastic materials besides nylon could be used for forming the body portion 12 including both thermoplastic and thermosetting material. As examples of other materials, the body portion might be formed of polyolefins including polyethylene, polystyrene, cellulose butyrate, phenol formaldehyde condensation products, epoxy resins, acr ylicresins, polycarbonate resins, etc. and compatible combinations thereof. p I i The spring metal member 14 is formed of suitable spring steel material and has a portion 24 which is adapted to be secured to an electrical terminal. The spring metal member may be notched as at 26 in order to provide for easy assembly of the spring metal member to the terminal stud. The spring metal member 14 is curved as at28 and this curved portion merges into a portion 3 0 that has side flanges or ribs 32 and 34. The :sideflanges or ribs 32 and 34 strengthen the portion 30 of the spring metal member 14. The portion 30 also has openings 36 which receive the plastic insulating material when the body portion 12 is molded to the spring metal member 14. The spring metal member 14 has a fourth opening 3 8 which is adapted to receive a rivet for securing a contact point 40 to theend of spring metal member 14. 7 It can be seen from FIGURES 1 and 2 that the portion 30 of the spring metal member 14 is entirelyencompassed by the portion 41 of the insulating member 12. During the molding operation, the plastic insulating material passes through the openings 36 and this insulating material entirely bounds the spring metal member over the area designated byreference numeral 30. The openings 36 thus may be termed shoulder means for preventing relative movement between the spring metal member 14 and the insulating member 12 as the insulating material engages the edges of these openings when the plastic molding material is molded to the spring metal member 14. u

The opening 38, in addition to being adapted to receive a contact point, serves during the molding operation as a positioning means for the spring metal member 14 as will become more readily apparenthereinafter. It to be appreciated that the contact point might be secured to the spring metal member 14 by means other than riveting, such as by brazing, welding and the like. i K

The method and apparatus for fabricating thebreaker lever of FIGURES 1 and 2 is illustrated in FIGURES 3 through 7 of the drawings. Referring now more particularly to thesefigu res, a mold generally designated by reference numeral 42 has side support plates 44 and 46. The side support plate 44 carries a mold part 48 whereas the side support plate 46 carries a mold part 50. The mold part 48 is secured to side support44 by means of screws 52-whereasthe mold part 50 is secured to side support 46 by one or more fasteners or screws 54. The mold part 48 has an opening 56 which receives a die part 58. In a like manner, the mold part 50 is provided with an opening 60 which receives a die part 62. The side support 44, mold part 48 and die part 58 thus form one side of the mold whereas the side support 46, mold part 50 and die part 62 fiorm another side of the mold. The die part 62 is provided with a passage or opening which receives a knockout pin 64 whereas the die part 58 has a similar opening or passage which receives a knockout pin 66. The mold part 50 is provided with a passage 68 which communicates with a second passage that receives a pin 70. The pin 70 is prevented from moving leftwardly in FIGURE by reason of the small diameter passage 72.

The mold part 48 is provided with an opening 74 which receives a mold part generally designated by reference numeral 76 and having a downwardly and arcuately extending portion 78 that is located adjacent to but spaced from die part 62 a distance equal to the thickness of spring metal member 14. The mold part 76 has a central opening 80 which receives a pin 82 and has a slot adapted to receive a key 75 positioned in key opening 73. A plate member 84 is secured to the mold part 48 by means of a fastener 86. The plate 84 has a slot 88 which permits the plate 84 to be moved to various positions with respect to the opening 74 formed in mold portion 48.

The mold parts 48 and 50 are formed with complementary recessed portions 90 and 92 and with complementary arcuate passages 94 and 96. The arcuately extending passages 94 and 96 form a single passage which communicates with a sprue 98 that connects the passages 94 and 96 with the mold cavity designated by reference numeral 100. The sprue passage 98 thus is effective to supply plastic molding material to the mold cavity 100. A pair of locating pins 101 and 102 are provided to align the mold halves when they are positioned adjacent one another.

When it is desired to fabricate a breaker lever of the type illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, the spring metal member 14 is positioned within the mold 42 in a manner illustrated in FIGURE 5. In positioning the spring metal member 14, the end of pin 70 passes through the opening 38 formed in the spring metal member. The mold part 76 is then fitted tothe mold so that the curved portion 28 of the spring metal member is held tightly between portion 78 of mold part 76 and die part 62. The mold halves are supported within a suitable fixture and the mold halves are held by the fixture in a position illustrated in FIGURE 5. With the parts of the mold in the position of FIGURE 5 and with the spring positioned as shown in FIGURE 5, the mold is ready to receive the plastic molding material. The means for supplying the plastic molding material to the mold includes a nozzle designated by reference numeral 106. This nozzle fits within the single passage formed by the recessed portions 90, 92, 94 and 96. The nozzle106 is connected with a suitable plastic molding supply apparatus shown diagrammatically and designated by reference numeral 108. ,The supply apparatus 108 may include the usual hopper to which is fed granular plastic material. In addition, the supply apparatus 108- will include the usual means for heating the granular plastic to a plastic condition and for forcing the heated plastic material through the nozzle and through the sprue opening 98 into the mold cavity 100. In molding nylon, it will ordinarily be necessary to heat the mold 42 by any suitable means such as an electrical heating coil. It will, of course, be appreciated that the method of supplying the plastic material to the mold will depend upon the particular plastic material being used to fabricate the breaker lever.

The mold cavity 100 is defined on opposite sides by die parts 58 and 62. Thebottorn side of the mold cavity is defined by the mold parts ,48 and 50 whereas the top side of the mold part is defined by mold parts 48 and 50 and mold part 76. The opening 18 of the body portion 12 of the breaker lever is formed by the pin 82 as is readily apparent from an inspection of FIGURES 5 and 6. During the time that the molding material is being sup plied to the mold cavity 100, it is forced through openings 36 in spring metal member 14 to fill out the portion 110 of cavity having a shape to form the rubbing block 16 of the breaker lever.

After the mold cavity 100 has been completely filled with plastic molding material, the mold is disassembled and the molded breaker lever is removed. The contact point 40 is then secured to the end of the spring metal member 14 as by riveting, welding, brazing or by any other suitable means. It will be appreciated that during the setting up of the mold, the plate member 84 serves to contact the upper surface of mold part 76 to hold it in place between the plate member 84 and the mold part 48. This plate also serves to hold the pin 82 in place during the molding operation. It will also be readily apparent that the mold part 76 and pin 82 may be readily removed from mold part 48 by simply swinging the plate 84 out of the way when the molding operation has been completed.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A breaiker lever comprising, a unitary spring metal member having a fiat section and an integral U-shaped section defined by spaced legs that are joined by an intermediate section, a contact secured to said spring metal member adjacent said Ushaped section, and a quantity of plastic insulating material molded directly to said spring metal member having a shape defining a rubbing block and a post receiving opening, at least a portion of said insulating material encompassing said spring metal member over at least a portion of the length of said U- shaped section and filling the space defined by said legs and said intermediate section.

2. A breaker lever comprising, a unitary spring metal member having a flat section and an integral U-shaped section defined by spaced legs that are joined by an intermediate section, at least one opening in said intermediate section, a contact secured to said spring metal member adjacent said U-shaped section, and a quantity of plastic insulating material molded directly to said spring metal member having a shape defining a rubbing block and a post receiving opening, at least a portion of said insulating material encompassing said spring metal member over at least a portion of the length of said U-shaped section and filling the space defined by said legs and said intermediate section and also filling said opening.

References Cited in thefile of this patent 

